


Zealot

by Tarlan



Category: Chronicles of Riddick (2004), Chronicles of Riddick Series
Genre: Character Study, Community: smallfandomfest, M/M, POV First Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-07-26
Updated: 2009-07-26
Packaged: 2017-10-12 23:30:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/130332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vaako begins to question his loyalty to Lord Marshal Zhylaw after that first meeting with Riddick on Helion Prime.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Zealot

**Author's Note:**

> Written for SmallFandomFest FEST05 (2009)

In the dim light of the Basilica, the breeder raised his goggles, glancing back over his shoulder directly at me. His eyes shined, glittering with an inner light that made him all the more fascinating to me. He fascinated her too, her body radiating her sexual desire for such a powerful animal. She led him into the chamber of the quasi-dead, the sway of her hips and the seductive arch of her long, swan-like neck distracting him from the trap set before him. Her words were honeyed and her fingers ghosted over his muscled arm before she joined me outside the chamber, the doors sealing behind her.

Fascinating or not, when Zhylaw gave the order to kill the breeder - the Riddick - I obeyed without question, eager to test myself against a man who had taken down my best lieutenant, Irgun, so easily. Yet, at the back of my mind, I wondered why Zhylaw seemed so unsettled over the revelation that this Riddick was Furyan. What did it matter that this breeder was one of the few survivors of a world that had already fallen beneath the might of the Necromonger army? It had not been the first world to fall, and neither would it be the last - from here 'til Underverse come.

Her interference warranted me the wrong kind of attention from my Lord Marshal, and I snarled at the glee shining in Commanders Toal and Scales' eyes as I was sent away to hunt down and destroy Riddick. While I was gone from his side they would consolidate their position of power, vying to become Zhylaw's First Among Commanders, and seeking to become his chosen one; his successor as Lord Marshal should he meet a timely end. That he should send The Purifier with me, no doubt to test my loyalty, only angered me further.

Watching Riddick take out twenty of my men as if they were mere flies to be swatted aside made up for the long days onboard the scout ship, following the trail of the only ship that managed to escape from Helion Prime. His body moved with a dancer's fluid grace, muscles rippling while eye and hand coordinated beautifully. Yes, beautiful. He was beauty in motion and I felt such regret as the blast stunned him, toppling him onto the hard-baked earth. I approached him with two blasters aimed at his chest, torn between the need to obey without question and an urge to taste this man's power and his skin; to feel him move beneath me in a different dance.

A force radiated out from him, throwing my circling men back against the rocky canyon walls. Stunned, I could only scrabble against the rocks, forced to retreat to my ship before the heat of sunrise burned me to dust. At the time, I could only assume that Riddick perished where he lay, along with The Purifier who had failed to reach the safety of the ship. All I had to show for the 'success' of the mission was the lone female who had fought alongside Riddick; a female who grieved more openly than I for the loss of the one called Riddick.

***

"He's here!" Dame Vaako hissed her warning, and I had no need to question the identity of the one of which she spoke.

"You mean on Helion?"

"I mean here. On this very ship."

I should have felt fear, for once Zhylaw learned of Riddick's presence then he would also know I had deliberately lied by stating Riddick was dead when I had only assumption rather than proof to offer. Of course, Dame Vaako wanted me to hunt down Riddick and destroy him before he came to Zhylaw's attention; before I could fall from Zhylaw's grace and her with me. Instead, I recalled that moment when I had tried to sneak up behind Zhylaw in the war room but had failed to approach unnoticed. Riddick was the only man I had ever seen who could be a serious threat to Zhylaw, and he was the only man for whom I could ever consider offering my loyalty 'til Underverse come now that I had started questioning my loyalty to Zhylaw.

Impatient as ever, Dame Vaako proved that for all her machinations, she was no strategist. Even though Riddick was losing the fight against the holy, half-dead Zhylaw, every blow weakened the Lord Marshal, even as it made him more arrogant, more careless in his attention to those around him. I saw the new convert walking up behind Zhylaw; the female I had brought back from Crematoria. I saw the light shining off the spear held in her small hand, and I watched as she plunged it into Zhylaw's back without hesitation.

Now it was time.

Zhylaw was on his knees. He had never once offered mercy and yet he expected it now for himself, expected me to finish off Riddick in a show of loyalty that seemed undeserved. As I raised the battle ax, ready to strike the killing blow, I hesitated for a moment because although Zhylaw was not fit to be Lord Marshal of the Necromongers, neither was I. I knew my own weaknesses too well, knowing I was not ready to keep what I killed today, and yet the blow had to come for the sake of all who would cross the threshold and be reborn into Underverse. The fear shining in Zhylaw's eyes proved that he had become unworthy and should meet his timely death. As the battle ax hit the solid marble flooring of the Basilica, I felt the shudder race up through my arms, aware even before then that I had delayed a fraction too long and, for one moment, I thought the cry of anguish from Dame Vaako had been for me. I thought perhaps I had been wrong in believing she saw me purely as a means of becoming consort to the most powerful of the Necromongers. I thought she might actually care that by missing, I had forfeited my life at Zhylaw's hands, but when I raised my eyes I saw Riddick snap off the hilt of the knife buried deep into Zhylaw's skull.

Zhylaw was dead, and not by my hand.

Riddick slumped back onto the throne in grief as the female convert died; I stepped towards him. I could see the loss glittering in shined eyes, but there was no weakness in that grief, only the strength of mind and body of a survivor. He looked straight into my eyes and I could see the question there, the same one he had given to the woman he had called Kyra: Are you with me?

Was I with him, or was I against him? Could I accept this man as my Lord Marshal?

I thought of Dame Vaako, standing on the mezzanine floor and looking down on the events below her. I thought of her anguished cry that was for her loss rather than mine, and decided I'd had my fill of her deceitful whispers and conspiracies as she plotted against anyone standing in her path to greater power.

If I bowed down before Riddick then her plotting would turn towards disposing of her husband so she could reach for her desire to become consort to the Lord Marshal - any Lord Marshal. Bowing would mean my untimely death, possibly at Riddick's hands if his interest in her beauty outweighed his consideration for keeping me as his First Among Commanders, or even as a foot soldier.

Are you with me?

As I bowed my head, I answered for all of those present, falling to one knee before him; aware from the rustle of cloth and clank of metal that others were following my lead.

***

The new Purifier led Riddick to Zhylaw's old chambers and I followed on behind with Toal and Scales a pace further back, stopping on the threshold as Riddick moved into the dim interior. His eyes took in everything; every angle, every piece of furnishing that might be used as a weapon, every escape route. I suspected that he already knew more about this chamber after that one glance than Zhylaw had learned in his many years as Lord Marshal.

"Go," he ordered, and we all turned away. "Not you... Vaako."

Dame Vaako eased between me and the door, stepping into his chamber with a seductive smile. "My Lord..."

"Maybe I should have been more specific. I want that Vaako." Riddick pointed straight at me, just as he had pointed at Irgun in the council chamber on Helion Prime; I acknowledged him with a deferential tilt of my head.

A flicker of a glance revealed the anger in Dame Vaako's eyes as she was dismissed along with all the others, her garments swishing across the marble floor as she stormed from the chamber.

"Feisty," he stated, and I knew he was referring to my wife.

"If you want her..."

"Not my type."

I smiled, already anticipating how she would take the news that her advances would be unwelcome. I resisted the temptation to ask what his type might be, deciding instead that it would be far more entertaining to watch the courtesans fawning over him; their eyes shining in avarice as they wondered if they would be the one to warm the bed of the new Lord Marshal, perhaps even become his consort.

I stepped across the threshold and the door slid closed behind me, lock snicking into place quietly. Riddick dimmed the lights further until only the glow of a hearth fire remained; the flickering flames making even the deepest of shadows dance. When he turned, I could see the ethereal glow of his eyes, reflecting fire light in silver and gold.

"Take off your armor." It wasn't the order I had expected but I obeyed, casting a glance his way as he stripped off his breastplate too. "Now the rest."

Hesitating, I stared hard into his eyes and questioned his motives. "Then, am I your type?" I asked, unable to subdue the sarcasm and intrigue that colored my voice, adding depth to its tone. Zhylaw would have killed me instantly for my lack of obedience without question but Riddick merely gave a half-smile, eyes shining with lust.

"If you want to be."

His deep, gravelly voice vibrated through me, and I wondered if he truly believed I had a choice should he make it a demand of my loyalty and obedience. Fortunately, the only other male who could have made such a demand was Zhylaw, and he had preferred the curves of females. Any other males who had tried to force themselves upon me in the past had felt the razor edge of my blade, for none had been worthy of my submission.

Slowly, I stripped off the remainder of my clothing, unashamed of my body as he walked around me, his blunt fingers brushing over exposed skin, trailing over the curve of my ass possessively. He was equally naked by the time he faced me again, and I gazed deep into silvered eyes, unflinching as he leaned in, one hand wrapping around the longer braids of my hair as he took my mouth in a firm yet stirring kiss. His hard, muscled body pressed up against mine, hotter than a Necromonger's cooler flesh... a side effect of purification. Strong fingers dug into one ass cheek, dragging our groins together until the slickness of his erection smeared across my lower belly. My hands found purchase against his broad back as he devoured me with his kiss, bodies thrusting against one another until the flood of liquid heat triggered my own release.

Spent, we collapsed upon the bed in a tangle of boneless limbs, where the advantage of my greater height held no meaning, and I found myself drawn into the circle of his arms, my head upon his shoulder.

"Not bad for someone who looks mostly dead."

I knew he was referring to the paleness of my skin and the dark circles worn as a symbol of my purification. Once he had undergone the procedure and had returned from the threshold as a holy, half-dead, then perhaps his shined eyes would see my acceptance of pain as a sign of my loyalty to him and to the Necromonger cause. Perhaps he would keep me in his bed, or at his side as his First Among Commanders; my very presence in his bed nullifying my marriage to Dame Vaako.

Perhaps I was not his type after all, and he would have me killed - or kill me himself.

Death was nothing to be feared. Yet, as I listened to and felt the steady thump of his heartbeat slowing into sleep beneath my cheek, for the first time in many years, I felt no pain at all.

I felt alive.

END


End file.
